Monitoring hormone-induced oxygen consumption in the salivary glands of the blowfly, Calliphora vicina, by use of luminescent microbeads

The salivary glands of the blowfly were injected with luminescent oxygen-sensitive microbeads. The changes in oxygen content within individual gland tubules during hormone-induced secretory activity were quantified. The measurements are based on an upgraded phase-modulation technique, where the phase shift of the sensor phosphorescence is determined independently from concentration and background signals. We show that the combination of a lock-in amplifier with a fluorescence microscope results in a convenient setup to measure oxygen concentrations within living animal tissues at the cellular level.